Sunday, January 25, 2009

In this final entry for Roadmaster, we have the band's 2nd album "Sweet Music". This effort was the first to signal the band's change of artistic direction, which veered away from journeyman boogie to full blown AOR pomp. Nothing signifies this change more than the opening cut, "It Doesn't Mean a Thing". With hooks galore and syrupy synths and strings, it should've been a huge single. Oddly enough, that never happened and it's matters like this that help to explain why Roadmaster never really broke through to the mainstream. Poor promotion, lack of exposure and mismatched touring partners were all to blame and it's a real shame. Needless to say, in the ensuing years since the band's dissolution there has been an all-new appreciation for their music. Whether you dig hard rock, radio friendly ballads or full-blown AOR...Roadmaster had it all. Perhaps it's the bittersweet irony of Roadmaster's fate is what makes them so appreciated in retrospect.

In any case, dig this excellent rip from William and make your Roadmaster collection complete!

Roadmaster's second LP was relesed on the independent Village Records label based in Indianapolis. That is why this excellent LP never received the attention it deserved. Mercury Records bought Village Records and re-released Sweet Music, but with little promotional push. (The original pressing does not have the LP title on the front.) This is the LP that broke Roadmaster wide open in the Midwest, and many of these songs are fondly remembered.

I think the main reason Roadmaster did not break nationally is because they were five years too late with their style of music. Similar bands like Kansas, Styx, Journey and Boston were well established and already under seige by punk rock. By the time Roadmaster signed with Mercury records and issued Hey World (a weaker effort than Sweet Music) their window of opportunity was past.

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